Objectives: Drug addiction poses a significant threat to the health, social and economic fabric of families, communities and nations. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with drug addiction amongst Malaysian males. Methods: A population-based case control study was carried out in Johor state. Cases were defined as confirmed male drug dependents aged 15 and above. Controls were defined as those aged 15 and above who had never used illegal drugs in their lifetime. A total of 1016 cases were selected at random from a list obtained from the state anti-drug agency and 1106 controls were sampled from a population-based sampling frame. After obtaining verbal consent, they were interviewed by trained graduates. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed using StataV8.2. The final model was adjusted for smoking, age, alcohol consumption, importance of religion, ethnicity, education level and self-esteem. Results: The final model had good fit (p>0.05) and good discrimination (AUC=0.94). Compared with those aged 15-19 years, the highest risk was amongst the 20-29 years age group (adjusted OR(aOR) 7.2; 95%CI=3.8,13.7) followed by the 30-39 year age group (aOR 5.4; 95%CI=2.9, 10.2) and 40-49 year age groups (aOR 5.0;95%CI=2.6,9.8). Being an ever-smoker was highly associated with drug addiction (aOR 98.7; 95%CI=28.7, 339.5). Compared with the Chinese, Malays (aOR 7.4;95%CI=4.9,11.2) and Indians (aOR 3.8;95%CI=2.1,7.0) had a higher risk of drug addiction. Drug addiction was associated with disagreeing "that religion is important as guidance in their life" (aOR 16.2;95%CI=8.3,31.9), and a histor of alcohol consumption (aOR 7.6; 95%CI=5.6,10.4). Conclusion: In conclusion the important risk factors associated with drug addiction is smoking, ethnicity, age, education level, alcohol consumption and not giving importance to religion as guidance in their life.However an increased self-esteem (aOR 0.6;95%CI=0.4,0.5) is protective against drug addiction.

Background: The paper examined the quality of life of haematological cancer patients according to their socio-demographic profiles and clinical diagnoses. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the tertiary referral centre of Ampang Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, involving 105 patients. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life (EORTC QLQ-C30) questionnaire was used to measure their quality of life. Results: The study involved patients diagnosed with all types of haematological cancer, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and multiple myeloma (MM), with a response rate of 83.3%. The patients with ALL, HL, without NHL, and without MM were younger than other patients. There were significant differences in quality of life scores in different socio-demographic groups and types of cancer diagnosis. The global quality of life of the female patients was much better than that of the male patients. Patients who were 40 years old or younger had a better global quality of life and physical functioning, as well as fewer symptoms of constipation, nausea, and vomiting. Employed patients were in less pain but showed greater impairments of cognitive function than did unemployed patients. Patients who earned a monthly wage of RM1000 or less had reduced physical function, more symptoms of pain, and more financial difficulties compared with patients who earned more. Patients with AML tended to have better physical functioning than did patients with MM, whose physical functioning was impaired. Comparatively, more symptoms of dyspnoea were found in ALL and HL patients than in other types of lymphoma. Compared with other patients, those with ALL had a greater loss of appetite, and other lymphoma patients had fewer symptoms of pain. Patients with NHL had impaired role functioning and more constipation compared with other patients. The results were all statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The quality of life of haematological cancer patients is affected by sociodemographic factors and clinical diagnoses. Efforts should be made to improve the overall quality of life of these patients.